Technology

As a vertically integrated manufacturer, Tesla has had to research and develop components in multiple technology domains, including batteries, motors, sensors, glass, and artificial intelligence.

Vehicle batteries

Unlike all other automakers, Tesla does not use individual large battery cells, but thousands of small, cylindrical, lithium-ion commodity cells like those used in consumer electronics. Tesla uses a version of these cells that is designed to be cheaper to manufacture and lighter than standard cells by removing some safety features; according to Tesla, these features are redundant because of the advanced thermal management system and an intumescent chemical in the battery to prevent fires.

The batteries are placed under the vehicle floor. This saves interior and trunk (boot) space but increases the risk of battery damage by debris or impact. After two vehicle fires in 2013 due to road debris, the Model S was retrofitted with a multi-part aluminum and titanium protection system to reduce the possibility of damage.

In 2016, former Tesla CTO Straubel expected batteries to last 10–15 years, and discounted using electric cars to charge the grid (V2G) because the related battery wear outweighs economic benefit. He also preferred recycling over re-use for grid once they reach the end of their useful life for vehicles. Beginning in 2008, Tesla worked with ToxCo/Kinsbursky to recycle worn out RoHS batteries. As of April 2019, Tesla has filed paperwork to recycle vehicle and test batteries using its own facilities at Giga Nevada.

Starting in 2016, Tesla established a 5-year battery research and development partnership at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, featuring lead researcher Jeff Dahn. Tesla acquired two battery companies in 2019: Hibar Systems and Maxwell Technologies. All three are expected to play an important role in Tesla's battery strategy.

Current generation batteries

Panasonic is the sole supplier of the cells in the U.S., and cooperates with Tesla in producing "2170" (21 mm (0.83 in) wide by 70 mm (2.8 in) tall) batteries at Giga Nevada. Tesla's battery cells in China are supplied by Panasonic and CATL, and are the more traditional prismatic cells used by other automakers.

As of August 2020update, Panasonic produces 35GWh per year of the 2170 batteries at Giga Nevada.

Some analysts believe that Tesla had a $42 ($158 versus $200) per kWh advantage over other vehicle battery manufacturers in 2019 due to its advanced engineering and scale of the Giga Nevada battery manufacturing.

Next generation batteries

During Tesla's Battery Day event on September 22, 2020, Tesla announced the next generation of their batteries, featuring a tabless battery design that will increase the range and decrease the price of Tesla vehicles. The new battery is named the "4680" in reference to its dimensions: 46 mm (1.8 in) wide by 80 mm (3.1 in) tall.

Musk announced plans to manufacture the 4680 batteries in the Tesla Fremont Factory. Tesla expects to produce 10 GWh of the 4680 batteries per year "in about a year", 100 GWh by 2023, and 3,000 GWh by 2030.

Tesla expects the new batteries will be 56% cheaper and allow the cars to travel 54% more miles. The price drop breaks down as:

• 18% from a modified production process (which was developed after analyzing the production process of the paper industry and bottling plants);
• 14% from a different battery design;
• 12% for cheaper resources for the cathode;
• 7% from integration into the vehicle; and
• 5% from cheaper resources for the anode.

BloombergNEF estimates Tesla's battery pack (not cell) price in 2019 at $128 per kWh, so that would mean a price of $56 per kWh in 3 years, if Tesla is able to achieve its goals. Many analysts believe that a battery pack price of $100 per kWh is the point at which the purchase price of electric cars is likely to be lower than comparable gasoline-powered cars, which will be an important milestone.

Motors

Tesla makes two kinds of electric motors. Their oldest currently-produced design is a three-phase four-pole AC induction motor with a copper rotor (which inspired the Tesla logo), which is used as the rear motor in the Model S and Model X. Newer, higher-efficiency permanent magnet motors are used in the Model 3, Model Y, the front motor of 2019-onward versions of the Model S and X, and is expected to be used in the Semi. The permanent magnet motors increase efficiency, especially in stop-start driving.

Glass

In November 2016, the company announced the Tesla glass technology group. The group produced the roof glass for the Tesla Model 3 and for use in SolarCity roof tiles announced in October 2016. The roof tiles contain an embedded solar collector, and are one-third lighter than standard roof tiles.

Autopilot

Tesla states that Autopilot is "designed to assist drivers with the most burdensome parts of driving" in order to make Tesla cars "safer and more capable over time." Tesla states that current (as of July 2020update) Autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.

Starting in September 2014, all Tesla cars are shipped with sensors and software to support Autopilot (initially hardware version 1 or "HW1"). Tesla upgraded its sensors and software in October 2016 ("HW2") to support full self-driving in the future. HW2 includes eight cameras, twelve ultrasonic sensors, and forward-facing radar. HW2.5 was released in mid-2017, and it upgraded HW2 with a second graphics process unit (GPU) and, for the Model 3 only, a driver-facing camera. HW3 was released in early 2019.

In April 2019, Tesla announced that all of its cars will include Autopilot software (defined as just Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer (Beta)) as a standard feature moving forward. Full self-driving software (Autopark, Navigate on Autopilot (Beta), Auto Lane Change (Beta), Summon (Beta), Smart Summon (Beta) and future abilities) is an extra cost option.

On April 24, 2020, Tesla released a software update to Autopilot. With this update, cars recognize and automatically stop at stop signs. The cars also automatically slow down and eventually stop at traffic lights (even if they are green), and the driver indicates that it is safe to proceed through the traffic light. Tesla acknowledges that the software is still in a beta test phase and far from being finished.

Full self-driving

Approach

Tesla's approach to achieve full self-driving (FSD) is different from that of other companies. Whereas Waymo, Cruise, and other companies are relying on LIDAR, highly detailed (centimeter-scale) three-dimensional maps, and cameras (as well as radar and ultrasonic sensors) in their autonomous vehicles, Tesla's approach is to use coarse-grained two-dimensional maps and cameras in addition to radar and ultrasonic sensors. Tesla claims that although its approach is much more difficult, it will ultimately be more useful, because its vehicles will be able to self-drive without geofencing concerns. Musk has argued that a system that relies on centimeter-scale three-dimensional maps is "extremely brittle" because it is not able to adapt when the physical environment changes.

Tesla's self-driving software has been trained based on 3 billion miles driven by Tesla vehicles, as of April 2020update. Alongside tens of millions of miles of real-world training, competitors have trained their software on tens of billions of miles in computer simulations, as of January 2020. Musk has argued that simulated miles are not able to capture the "weirdness" of the real world, and therefore will not be sufficient to train the software.

In terms of computing hardware, Tesla designed a self-driving computer chip that has been installed in its cars since March 2019 and also developed a neural network training supercomputer; other vehicle automation companies such as Waymo regularly use custom chipsets and neural networks as well.

Criticism

Most experts believe that Tesla's approach of trying to achieve full self-driving by eschewing LIDAR and high-definition maps is not feasible. Auto analyst Brad Templeton has criticized Tesla's approach by arguing, "The no-map approach involves forgetting what was learned before and doing it all again." In a March 2020 study by Navigant Research, Tesla was ranked last for both strategy and execution in the autonomous driving sector.

Schedule & FSD Beta

At the end of 2016, Tesla expected to demonstrate full autonomy by the end of 2017, and in April 2017, Musk predicted that in around two years, drivers would be able to sleep in their vehicle while it drives itself. In 2018 Tesla revised the date to demonstrate full autonomy to be by the end of 2019. In January 2020, Musk stated that the full self-driving software would be "feature complete" by the end of 2020, and added that feature complete "doesn't mean that features are working well."

On October 22, 2020, Tesla released a "beta" version of its full self-driving software to a small group of testers. Musk stated that the testing "Will be extremely slow & cautious, as it should," and "be limited to a small number of people who are expert & careful drivers". The release of beta FSD has renewed concern regarding whether the technology is ready for testing on public roads.

Tesla plans to release a monthly subscription package for Full Self-Driving in 2021.